Rampage Jackson had the opportunity to watch Jake Paul train ahead of his bout with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and spoke on his feelings towards the influencer.
The 28-year-old defeated the Mexican by unanimous decision, which earned Paul a WBA #14 ranking.
Paul, before fighting professional boxers from yesteryear, made his name competing against MMA stars, including Ben Askren.
Former UFC star Jackson has not fought in the cage since a KO loss in Bellator in 2019.
Jackson hated Paul for knocking out fellow UFC stars
In a behind-the-scenes interview, the 47-year-old was upfront about his initial feelings towards the star fighting fellow mixed martial artists.
He said: “Sitting across from him on the table, I respect him a lot more. I’m going to keep it 100, I didn’t like that he was knocking out UFC fighters.
“I wasn’t hating on him, I was hating on him beating up my comrades. I’m just keeping it 100 and I kept it real on that.”
The ‘Problem Child’ has been accused of ‘fixing fights’ by those in the industry after his many knockouts and fight against legend Mike Tyson.
But the former UFC light heavyweight champion said he doesn’t think that is the case.
Previously, Jackson had stated he felt the knockouts looked ‘set-up’, but since speaking to the Ohio fighter, he has changed his mind.
He explained: “I didn’t think that the fights were fixed or guys were throwing the fights, I didn’t want to believe my friends were actually getting worked and knocked out.”
Rampage Jackson picks MMA as the one sport he would like to see Jake Paul tackle next
It is widely known that the YouTuber comes from an athletic background in high school, similar to Logan Paul.
The youngest Paul brother has claimed that he was a D1 wrestler in the state, which is the highest level of collegiate sports.
After seeing the session, the Tennessee native gave an honest assessment of his skills and whether he could compete in the cage.
Jackson said: “I thought he looked great. It is hard to believe he has only been training boxing for five years.
“He is obviously an athlete and now he talking about going to MMA, so I’d like to see how he looks wrestling because he said he wrestled in Ohio.
“Ohio is a tough state to wrestle in to be honest.”
Despite signing a deal with the PFL, he has yet to step into the cage, and with his success in the ring continuing, it is unlikely he will ever do so.